INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana's leaf season might be starting a little later this fall, but they will be covering lawns soon enough.
To help you deal with the annual autumn chore, Pat from Sullivan Hardware and Garden shared his favorite tricks and tools on 13Sunrise Sunday morning.
Pat said community curbside leaf pickup will be starting soon, and depending on what your trash service prefers, leaf funnels are available to help you put leaves into either plastic or paper bags to haul to the curb for the trash truck.
Whether you prefer raking or blowing your leaves into piles, you still have to pick up the leaves before they go into the bags. Pat recommends a set of inexpensive plastic "leaf claws" that help you scoop large piles of leaves once you've raked our blown them into one area.
If you prefer blowing, Pat said electric blowers have advanced in power to the point they are equally effective with gas-powered blowers. But if you continue to use a gas blower, make sure you have fresh fuel because stale fuel is the number-one problem with gas blowers failing to start.
Of course, if you own a mulching lawn mower, you can mow and grind up your leaves and let the small particles fall down into your grass and nourish your turf. Just make sure you give the the mulching blade enough time to grind the leaves into small enough pieces so they don't choke the grass. You might have to make several passes with the mower, but some homeowners believe that effort beats raking and bagging.
Watch Pat's full 13Sunrise segment in the video player.